Vegetable Cookery

1812 cookbook by Martha Brotherton

Vegetable Cookery

Fourth edition title page

Author| Martha Brotherton
Original title| A New System of Vegetable Cookery
Language| English
Subject| Vegetarian cuisine
Genre| Cookbook

Publication date

| 1812
Publication place| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Media type| Print
Text| Vegetable Cookery at the Internet Archive

Vegetable Cookery (originally published in 1812 as A New System of Vegetable Cookery) is an early vegetarian cookbook written anonymously by Martha Brotherton of Salford. It is considered the earliest known published cookbook to advocate a meat-free diet. The work was first issued in periodical form and later expanded into book editions. Brotherton and her husband, Joseph Brotherton, were prominent members of the Bible Christian Church, a religious group that promoted vegetarianism and abstinence from alcohol. Her husband authored the introduction to the book.

Vegetable Cookery consists of ovo-lacto vegetarian recipes and was intended to support the dietary practices of the church. It was revised and republished in several editions throughout the 19th century and has been recognised as a foundational work in the history of vegetarian literature.

## Background

[edit]

Martha Brotherton (née Harvey) was a member of the Bible Christian Church in Salford, a denomination that promoted vegetarianism and abstinence from alcohol.[1] In 1805, she married Joseph Brotherton, a fellow church member who later became the church's minister and Salford's first Member of Parliament.[2]

As part of her involvement in the church, Martha compiled and anonymously published, in periodical form, A New System of Vegetable Cookery in 1812.[3] It has been described as the first vegetarian cookbook.[2][4][5] Her husband contributed the book's introduction.[3]

## Summary

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The fourth edition contains over 1,200 recipes and is divided into more than twenty sections. It opens with an introduction promoting the health, moral, and religious benefits of a vegetable-based diet, in line with the beliefs of the Bible Christian Church.[6]

The main body of the book includes recipes for soups, omelets, eggs, vegetables, salads, sauces, savoury pies and puddings, cheese-based dishes, sweet puddings, pancakes, tarts, custards, flummery, bread, biscuits, cakes, preserved fruits, pickles, and syrups. It also includes sections on spoon-meats, lemonade and sherbets, and general household tips under "Useful Family Receipts" and an appendix.[6]

The recipes are predominantly lacto-ovo vegetarian, often using ingredients such as butter, eggs, and cream, and are tailored to the dietary principles of the Bible Christian Church. Instructions cover both simple and elaborate preparations, often adapted from traditional English dishes but omitting meat and alcohol. The book includes a variety of soups (e.g. pea, spinach, onion, celery, lentil), stews, gratins, and fried dishes using a wide range of vegetables such as cucumbers, turnips, mushrooms, red cabbage, and artichokes.[6]

## Legacy

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Historians have noted that Brotherton's work influenced early vegetarian communities beyond Britain. According to Laura J. Miller and Emilie Hardman, the book "served as a guide for Americans who began to self-identify as vegetarian in the early decades of the nineteenth century".[7]

Kathryn Gleadle has described the book as "enormously important to the movement, forming the basis of most subsequent works on vegetable cookery".[8]

## Publication history

[edit]

The book was first published anonymously in periodical form in 1812 under the title A New System of Vegetable Cookery, attributed to "a member of the Bible Christian Church".[4] A second edition appeared in 1821, followed by a third edition published by Horatio Phillips of London in 1829 under its best-known title, Vegetable Cookery.[4]

The fourth edition was issued in 1833 by Effingham Wilson and expanded to include 1,261 recipes. It was also published anonymously, credited only to "a lady".[4] Two further editions appeared in 1839 and 1852.[4] The 1852 edition includes a foreword by James Simpson, the first president of the Vegetarian Society.[9]

## See also

[edit]

* Bibliography of veganism and vegetarianism
* History of vegetarianism
* History of English cuisine
* Primitive Cookery, 18th-century semi-vegetarian cookbook

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Joseph & Martha Brotherton". V for Life. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
2. ^ a b "Biography: Martha Brotherton". Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
3. ^ a b Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF) (PhD thesis). Vol. 2\. University of Southampton. pp. 19–20.
4. ^ a b c d e Antrobus, Derek (1997). A Guiltless Feast: The Salford Bible Christian Church and the Rise of the Modern Vegetarian Movement. City of Salford Education and Leisure. p. 72\. ISBN 978-0-901952-57-8.
5. ^ Phelps, Norm (2007). The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA. Lantern Books. p. 149\. ISBN 978-1-59056-106-5.
6. ^ a b c Brotherton, Martha (1833). Vegetable Cookery: With an Introduction, Recommending Abstinence From Animal Food and Intoxicating Liquors (4th ed.). London: E. Wilson.
7. ^ Miller, Laura J.; Hardman, Emilie (2015). "By the Pinch and the Pound: Less and More Protest in American Vegetarian Cookbooks from the Nineteenth Century to the Present". In Baughman, James L.; Ratner-Rosenhagen, Jennifer; Danky, James P. (eds.). Protest on the Page: Essays on Print and the Culture of Dissent Since 1865. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 114–115\. ISBN 978-0-299-30284-9.
8. ^ Gleadle, Kathryn (2003). "'The Age of Physiological Reformers': Rethinking Gender and Domesticity in the Age of Reform". In Burns, Arthur; Innes, Joanna (eds.). Rethinking the Age of Reform: Britain 1780–1850. Past and Present Publications. Cambridge University Press. pp. 200–219\. ISBN 978-0-521-82394-4. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
9. ^ "Vegetable & Vegetarian". Old and Vintage Cookbooks. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Vegetable Cookery: With an Introduction, Recommending Abstinence from Animal Food and Intoxicating Liquors at the Internet Archive (4th edition)
* Pumpkin soup recipe adapted from Vegetable Cookery at History in the Making
* Flummery and pea soup recipes from Vegetable Cookery on The Feast podcast

* v
* t
* e

Veganism and vegetarianism

Perspectives|

| Veganism|

* Animal-free agriculture
* Black veganism
* Fruitarianism
* History
* Raw veganism
* Straight edge
* Hardline
* Nutrition
* Vegan organic agriculture
* Vegan school meal
* Vegan studies

|

Vegetarianism|

* Economic vegetarianism
* Environmental vegetarianism
* History (Romantic Era)
* Orthopathy
* Lacto vegetarianism
* Lacto-ovo vegetarianism
* Ovo vegetarianism
* Cuisine
* Vegetarian Diet Pyramid
* Ecofeminism
* Nutrition
* By country

Lists|

* Bibliography
* Vegetarians
* Vegans
* Fictional characters
* Festivals
* Organizations
* Vegan and plant-based media

Locations|

* Cheremshanka, Altai Republic
* Community of the Ark
* Haridwar
* New Vrindaban
* Palitana
* Pushkar
* Rishikesh
* Tirumala
* The Farm (Tennessee)

Ethics|

| Secular|

* Animal rights
* Animal welfare
* Anthropocentrism
* Carnism
* Deep ecology
* Environmental vegetarianism
* Ethics of eating meat
* Meat paradox
* Nonviolence
* Replaceability argument
* Sentientism
* Speciesism
* Tirukkuṟaḷ

|

Religious|

* Buddhism
* Christianity (Seventh-day Adventist Church)
* Hinduism
* Sattvic
* Ahimsa
* Islam
* Jainism
* Judaism
* Pythagoreanism
* Rastafari
* Sikhism
* Taoism

Food
and drink|

* List of vegetarian and vegan companies
* Dairy alternatives
* Coconut milk
* Plant cream
* Plant milk
* Soy yogurt
* Cheese
* Meat alternatives
* List of meat substitutes
* Bacon
* Burgers
* Duck
* Hot dogs
* Jambon
* Quorn
* Sausage roll
* Seitan
* Tempeh
* Tofu
* Tofurkey
* Gelatin substitutes
* Vegetarian mark
* Beer
* Wine

Groups
and events|

| Vegan|

* American Vegan Society
* Beauty Without Cruelty
* China Vegan Society
* Food Empowerment Project
* Go Vegan
* Nederlandse Vereniging voor Veganisme
* Our Hen House
* Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
* Plamil Foods
* Vegan Awareness Foundation
* Vegan flag
* Vegan Outreach
* Vegan Prisoners Support Group
* The Vegan Society
* Veganmania
* Vegetarian Resource Group
* Veganuary
* Veganz
* World Vegan Day

|

Vegetarian|

* Alcott House
* Bible Christian Church
* Boston Vegetarian Society
* Christian Vegetarian Association
* Dutch Vegetarian Society
* Eden Gemeinnützige Obstbau-Siedlung
* European Vegetarian Union
* French Vegetarian Society
* Hare Krishna Food for Life
* International Vegetarian Union
* Jewish Veg
* Meat-free days
* Meatless Monday
* Friday fast
* North American Vegetarian Society
* Order of the Golden Age
* ProVeg Deutschland
* ProVeg International
* ProVeg Nederland
* Scottish Vegetarian Society
* Swissveg
* Toronto Vegetarian Association
* Vegetarian Federal Union
* Vegetarian Society
* Vegetarian Society (Singapore)
* Veggie Pride
* Viva! Health
* World Esperantist Vegetarian Association
* World Vegetarian Day

Films|

* The Animals Film (1981)
* Diet for a New America (1991)
* A Cow at My Table (1998)
* Meet Your Meat (2002)
* Post Punk Kitchen (2003–2005)
* Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
* Earthlings (2005)
* A Sacred Duty (2007)
* Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010)
* Planeat (2010)
* Forks Over Knives (2011)
* Vegucated (2011)
* Live and Let Live (2013)
* Cowspiracy (2014)
* PlantPure Nation (2015)
* What the Health (2017)
* Carnage (2017)
* Dominion (2018)
* Eating You Alive (2018)
* The Game Changers (2018)
* Maa Ka Doodh (2023)
* You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment (2024)

Magazines
and journals|

* The Animals' Agenda
* Naked Food
* The Pleasure Boat
* Satya
* Vegan Journal
* The Vegetarian Magazine
* Vegetarian Times
* VegNews

Books
and reports|

* On Abstinence from Eating Animals (3rd century)
* Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets (1699)
* The Fable of the Bees (1714)
* A Reasonable Plea for the Animal Creation (1746)
* Primitive Cookery (1767)
* The Cry of Nature (1791)
* An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty (1802)
* Vegetable Cookery (1812)
* A Vindication of Natural Diet (1813)
* Reasons for not Eating Animal Food (1814)
* Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824)
* Nature's Own Book (1835)
* Fruits and Farinacea (1845)
* "The Vegetarian; or a Visit to Aunt Primitive" (1847)
* The Ethics of Diet (1883)
* A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays (1886)
* What is Vegetarianism? (1886)
* The First Step (1891)
* Shelley's Vegetarianism (1891)
* Behind the Scenes in Slaughter-Houses (1892)
* Why I Am a Vegetarian (1895)
* Figs or Pigs? (1896)
* Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
* The Logic of Vegetarianism (1899)
* Thirty-nine Reasons Why I Am a Vegetarian (1903)
* The Meat Fetish (1904)
* The Apsley Cookery Book
* The New Ethics (1907)
* A Fleshless Diet (1910)
* The Benefits of Vegetarianism (1927)
* Living the Good Life (1954)
* Ten Talents (1968)
* Diet for a Small Planet (1971)
* The Vegetarian Epicure (1972)
* Moosewood Collective Cookbooks (1973)
* The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (1975)
* Laurel's Kitchen (1976)
* Moosewood Cookbook (1977)
* Fit for Life (1985)
* Diet for a New America (1987)
* The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990)
* Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (1997)
* The China Study (2005)
* Skinny Bitch (2005)
* Livestock's Long Shadow (2006)
* The Bloodless Revolution (2006)
* Eating Animals (2009)
* Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows (2009)
* The Vegan Studies Project (2015)
* Animal (De)liberation (2016)
* The End of Animal Farming (2018)
* Vegetable Kingdom (2020)
* Making a Stand for Animals (2022)
* Meat Atlas (annual)

Restaurants|

| Active|

* Ben & Esther's Vegan Jewish Deli
* Cinnaholic
* Crossroads Kitchen
* Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro
* Greens Restaurant
* Elizabeth's Gone Raw
* Hiltl Restaurant
* Little Pine
* Moosewood Restaurant
* Plant
* Purezza
* Slutty Vegan
* Souley Vegan
* The Sound Lounge
* Veggie Galaxy
* Veggie Grill

|

Former|

* Cranks
* Food for Thought
* InSpiral Lounge
* Lentil as Anything
* Minerva Café
* New Riverside Cafe
* Nix
* Penny Cafeteria
* Pink Peacock
* The Hollow Reed
* The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel

Related|

* Cultured meat
* Juice fasting
* Low-carbon
* Plant-based action plan
* Plant-based diet
* Planetary health
* Sustainable diet
* Vegaphobia
* Vegetarian and vegan dog diet
* Vegetarian and vegan symbolism

* v
* t
* e

English cuisine

Roman times|

| Dishes|

* Sausages

|

Middle Ages
to 15th century|

| Exemplars|

* Utilis Coquinario (c. 1300)
* The Forme of Cury (c. 1390)

|

Dishes|

* Apple pie
* Bacon
* Banbury cake
* Cheesecake
* Custard
* Game pie
* Gingerbread
* Kippers
* Mince pie
* Mortis
* Pasty
* Pease pudding
* Pie
* Pottage

16th century|

| Exemplars|

* Richard Pynson (The Boke of Cokery, 1500)
* Thomas Dawson (The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1585)

|

Dishes|

* Black pudding
* Fruit fool
* Pancake
* Scones
* Syllabub
* Trifle (without jelly)

17th century|

| Exemplars|

* Elinor Fettiplace (Receipt Book, 1604)
* Gervase Markham (The English Huswife, 1615)
* Robert May (The Accomplisht Cook, 1660)
* Hannah Woolley (The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet 1670)
* John Evelyn (Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets 1699)
* Kenelm Digby (The Closet Opened 1699)

|

Dishes|

* Battalia pie
* Currant bun
* Queen of Puddings
* Sponge cake
* Sussex pond pudding
* Sweet and sour
* Tea

18th century|

| Exemplars|

* Mary Kettilby (A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick and Surgery 1714)
* Mary Eales (Mrs Mary Eales's Receipts 1718)
* John Nott (The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary, 1723)
* Eliza Smith (The Compleat Housewife 1727)
* Hannah Glasse (The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy 1747)
* Ann Cook (Professed Cookery, 1754)
* Martha Bradley (The British Housewife 1758)
* Primitive Cookery (1767)
* Elizabeth Raffald (The Experienced English Housekeeper 1769)
* Richard Briggs (The English Art of Cookery 1788)
* William Augustus Henderson (The Housekeeper's Instructor 1791)

|

Dishes|

* Bread and butter pudding
* Christmas pudding
* Chutney
* Curry
* In UK
* Cottage or Shepherd's pie
* Cumberland rum nicky
* Eccles cake
* Jellied eels
* Jugged hare
* Ketchup
* Marmalade
* Parkin
* Piccalilli
* Pork pie
* Roast beef
* Sandwich
* Scouse
* Suet pudding
* Toad in the hole
* Trifle (with jelly)
* Welsh rarebit
* Yorkshire pudding

19th century|

| Exemplars|

* Maria Rundell (A New System of Domestic Cookery 1806)
* Martha Brotherton (Vegetable Cookery 1812)
* Eliza Acton (Modern Cookery for Private Families 1845)
* Charles Elmé Francatelli (The Modern Cook 1846)
* Isabella Beeton (Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management 1861)

|

Dishes|

* Bubble and squeak
* Cauliflower cheese
* Cobbler
* Devilled kidneys
* Faggots
* Fish and chips
* Full English breakfast
* HP Sauce
* Ice cream cone
* Lancashire hotpot
* Potted shrimps
* Sausage roll
* Steak and kidney pudding
* Battenberg cake
* Eton mess
* Eve's pudding
* Jam roly-poly
* Lardy cake
* Madeira cake
* Summer pudding
* Windsor soup
* Worcestershire sauce

20th century|

| Exemplars|

* Florence Petty
* Elizabeth David (A Book of Mediterranean Food 1950)
* Dorothy Hartley (Food in England 1954)
* Constance Spry
* Fanny Cradock
* Marguerite Patten
* Jane Grigson
* Delia Smith
* Rick Stein
* Nigel Slater
* Keith Floyd
* Marco Pierre White
* Nigella Lawson
* Jamie Oliver
* Fergus Henderson (The Whole Beast 1999)
* Gordon Ramsay
* Gary Rhodes
* Mary Berry

|

Dishes|

* Bakewell tart
* Beef Wellington
* Carrot cake
* Chicken tikka masala
* Coronation chicken
* Crumble
* Knickerbocker glory
* Ploughman's lunch
* Salad cream
* Sticky toffee pudding

21st century|

| Exemplars|

* Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck)
* Lizzie Collingham
* Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (River Cottage)
* Rachel Khoo
* Michel Roux Jr. (Le Gavroche)
* Antony Worrall Thompson
* Clarissa Dickson Wright (A History of English Food 2011)

|

Dishes|

* Coronation quiche
* Platinum Pudding

Related|

* List of English dishes
* List of English cheeses
* List of savoury puddings
* List of sweet puddings
* Rationing in the United Kingdom

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